The
son of Charles Richard Gurney Hoare, he attended Harrow and Trinity College,
Cambridge. He obtained his RAeC Certificate (No 126) on
29 August 1911 and in 1914 was sent
back to Britain to become an instructor for the soon to be opened Indian Flying
School. However, when war broke out in August, those in Britain for this purpose
were absorbed into the RFC. A period as a squadron commander was followed
by a return to the CFS as Assistant Commandant and later command of a training
wing in Britain.

His experience was put to good use in when at the end of
1916 he was chosen to head a new training organisation in Canada. He set
up his HQ in Toronto and then selected three suitable airfields and commenced
flying training in February 1917. He also later gained agreement with the
US authorities for the establishment of RFC training facilities in Texas in
exchange for the training of US Pilots.

He appears to have been in business in
partnership with others from before World War One as a Stock and Share Dealer.